Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general terms to the heating of water by solar energy and more particularly to an arrangement for use in combination with the conventional hot water system of a house or building, for heating water by solar energy and transferring the water so heated at an upper level to a lower level, without the use of pumps, for storing in the hot water tank of the conventional system and thus reducing the fuel or energy consumption requirements of the latter.
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention it is possible to transfer water heated in a solar energy receiving panel positioned on the roof of a building to a conventional hot water tank positioned at a lower level and forming part of the hot water system of the building, without resorting to pumps and merely by taking advantage of gravity.
The invention has been particularly conceived for combination with a conventional hot water system, in which the water is heated and stored in an electric or fuel fed, thermally insulated, combined water heater and storage tank of the type manufactured by Rheem International, Inc.
However, the invention can also be used in a system having an instantaneous water heater (wherein the water is heated as it is being consumed), in which case a hot water storage tank should be provided for storing the water heated in the solar panel.
It is a known fact that the so called energy crisis has made it necessary to reduce the consumption of conventional energy (that derived from oil or natural gas) and resort to nonconventional heat sources such as solar energy.
The aim of the present invention is to complement a conventional water heating system with a solar energy panel so that the consumption of fuel for heating the water is only required when there is an extreme demand for hot water or when the solar energy is insufficient for heating the water normally consumed.
A further aim of the present invention is to achieve the previously mentioned aim by an extremely simple arrangement and without resorting to control elements, complicated temperature sensors, pumps etc. as would be required by the obvious arrangements for achieving said previously mentioned aim.
Some of the important features of the present invention are:
(1) The fluid used to transport heat from the solar energy panel is the water to be consumed in the building; PA1 (2) The water circuit is of the open circuit type; PA1 (3) No reliance is made on pumps or the like; PA1 (4) The energy required to transfer heat from an upper level (solar energy panel) to a lower level (hot water tank and taps) is obtained by the pressure difference provided by the cold water supply; PA1 (5) The hot water installation herein proposed is just as simple as a conventional hot water system; PA1 (6) Conventional solar energy panels, thermostatic valves, tanks, etc. can be used; PA1 (7) The volume of water used to transfer heat from the solar panel to the hot water storage tank remains in the system because it causes a backflow of an equivalent volume of cold water into the cold water storage tank.